My current release also happens to be my debut
release—EFFIGY, the story of a young queen named Haleine Coileáin, who finds
herself battling evil forces in an attempt to save her people.

1. Is this book part of a series?

Effigy is the first book in a series, The Coileáin
Chronicles. The entire series (six titles in all, should things go according to
plan) will tell the story of three sisters and the roles each will play in an
epic battle between good and evil. Haleine is the eldest sister.

2. If your book had a soundtrack, give us a list of a few
songs that would be on it.

All of my WIPs have a soundtrack. It’s actually how I
know I’m getting serious about a particular project. Some of Effigy’s key
tracks include:

My Skin by Natalie Merchant (If Haleine Coileáin had a
theme song, this would be it.)

Overcome by Live

Indifference by Pearl Jam

Do What You Have To Do by Sarah McLachlan

Have I mentioned that I’m a huge fan of 90’s music?

3. I LOVE 90's music!How did you come up with the names for your hero and
heroine?

When I went to name my main character, I knew I wanted
her name to start with an H. It’s weird, I know, and I don’t know why I was so
determined to have that be the case, but that’s what happened. I went through
several variation until I finally settled upon Haleine. (rhymes with Elaine)

4.My mom's name is Elaine. ;) What are a few things we would find in or on your
desk?

On my desk you would find the following items: Slinky, a
super-poseable Aragorn action figure (that’s what the package boasted), three
pen holders chock full of various writing instruments, and a little pewter Pegasus who served as the inspiration for one of Effigy’s characters.

5. How old were you when you read your first romance
book? What was it?

I believe I was 18 when I read my first real romance
novel. It was Jude Deveraux’s Remembrance. My mother had checked it out of the
library and left it out on the coffee table. I was looking for something to
read and picked it up. I recall enjoying the story...but hating the ending.

6.I started reading Jude Deveraux at a young age also. What is the silliest thing you ever did while writing
a story?

I consider myself to be a method writer, so that means I
often end up physically acting out scenes. Once, while writing a sword fight, I
accidentally killed a lamp and took a chunk out of my desk and the wall with my
broadsword. This led my significant other to create the very strict “NO SWORDS
AROUND ANY LIVING CREATURES” rule in the house.

7.I do that too! But not with swords. Have you ever experienced something unusual that
influenced a story?

I fainted for the first time a couple of summers ago.
That made me go back and rewrite a couple of scenes. The following summer, I
cracked a rib at my day job. It made me realize just how badly rib injuries hurt.
Rewrote some things, then, too.

8. Ouch! First-hand experience certainly helps us though. How long have you been writing?

Since I was very young. I was always writing little stories
or poems. In middle school, there was a girl who lived over the river and through
the woods from me, and we were each other’s first critique partners. Every morning
on the school bus, we would exchange whatever we had written the night before.
I started my first novel then, but never did anything with it. I didn’t get
serious about writing until halfway through my college career.

9. Do you listen to music while you write?

Yes. I’ll listen to the aforementioned story-specific
playlist, as well as a special playlist I call “Mood Music.” It’s mostly
comprised of movie soundtracks and other instrumental music—nothing with
lyrics. It always puts me in the mood to write.

10. Tell us about your writing process.

Just about everything starts off handwritten in a spiral
notebook—or maybe a paper towel if I’m stuck at work. Scenes will generally
start off with a few lines of dialogue off of which I build the rest of the
scene, going back to layer in everything else. I’m also rather addicted to
building storyboards on which I chart where the story’s been and where it’s
going. Or might go. The characters very seldom follow my plans, but I’ve learned
to go with it.

BIO:

Armed with a deep and lasting love of
chocolate, purple pens, and medieval weaponry, M.J. Fifield is nothing if not a
uniquely supplied insomniac. When she isn’t writing, she’s on the hunt for
oversized baked goods or shiny new daggers. M.J. lives with a variety of furry
creatures—mostly pets—in New Hampshire. Effigy
is her first novel.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

“I figured if you wanted to cause me harm, you sure as
hell wouldn’t be cooking for me.”

He shrugged as he continued to stir. “I thought you’d be
hungry.”

“You thought right. The last time I had something to eat
was a bagel at one o’clock this morning.”

“Then you’re starving.”

She chuckled. “I am.”

He motioned for her to sit at the table. “I don’t know
what you like, so I made everything I know how to cook.” He set a plate on the
green placemat in front of her. She looked at it and grinned. He had made a
tomato grilled cheese sandwich, homemade mashed potatoes, and spaghetti.

Blake sat across from her with his own plate and looked
at her. “Why are you smiling at the food?”

“No reason,” she insisted. “It’s exactly what I would’ve
made.”

“Is that bad?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s good. It looks good.”

With that said, she dug right into her food. The cheese
was gooey, the mashed potatoes were excellent, and the spaghetti tasted like it
came from an Italian restaurant. And she ate every last bite. “Those mashed
potatoes were fabulous,” she claimed.

“My grandmother’s recipe. It was the only thing she was
able to teach me how to cook. My sister is the chef in the family. That
spaghetti sauce was hers.”

“She makes her own spaghetti sauce?”

“She uses it in her restaurant and sells it to her
customers. She gives me a couple of jars every month.”

“Tell your sister she makes the best damn sauce I’ve ever
tasted. And that grilled cheese was also the best I ever had. No lie.”

“Well now, I created the grilled cheese on my own.” He
picked up the plates and set them in the sink.

“I’m going to go up and take a shower. The door will be
unlocked if you need me.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know why the little detail about the
door being unlocked while he was wet and naked had her heart racing.

I didn’t describe Blake’s grilled cheese sandwich like in
the recipe below, but when I thought more about how Blake would’ve made it, he
told me. It’s a bit gourmet than your traditional white sandwich bread and
American cheese combo, but it’s delicious!

Blake’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Need:

Two slices of thickly sliced bread

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

Tomato, diced

Butter

Garlic powder

1.Mix a dash of garlic powder into a tablespoon (or so)
of butter. Slather the garlic butter onto two slices of thickly sliced bread,
such as Italian, French, or Cubano.

2. Heat a skillet, set one slice of bread, buttered side
down, onto skillet.

3. Sprinkle a generous amount of shredded mozzarella
cheese on top.

4. Add diced tomatoes, top with an equal amount of
shredded cheddar cheese and the other slice of bread, buttered side up.

5. Brown each side to a nice golden. Cut in half, let
cool, and enjoy!

NOTE: Blake says you can omit the garlic better if you
want. But to add flavor, you can smear a little basil pesto on the inside of
the bread before adding the shredded mozzarella cheese.

Thank you so much, Sherry Ellis, for nominating me for
the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Getting one of these awards from a fellow
blogger always feels like an incredible honor, and it never dulls. Lidy Wilks nominated me for this award a few days later. Thank you! :) Below I am
sharing 3 things that have inspired me recently. When I had to nominate
bloggers, I had a major brain fart and I wanted to get this up quickly, so I
only nominated 6 people. If you’re reading this though, I nominate you too! :)

The Rules:

1.
Thank the person who nominated you, and link to their blog.

2.
Display the award logo.
3. Nominate 15 other bloggers (more or less) and provide a link
where they may be found.

4. Go
to their blog, leave a comment to let them know they have been nominated.

5.
Mention three things that inspired you the most during the past few weeks.

Three Things that Inspired Me Recently:

1. I have been listening to the song “Chandelier”
by Sia on repeat for days. I remember when I first heard it on a trailer for a
movie last year and my ears perked up like a dog expecting a treat. I
desperately wanted to know who the singer was and what the song title was, but
time went by and I still didn’t know. Silly me, I could’ve Googled it or just
listened to the newest album for a singer I like. Well, I finally stumbled upon
it last week and I’ve been listening to “Chandelier” ever since while writing
book 3 in my Disaster Crimes series. The rest of the songs on Sia’s album “1000
Forms of Fear” are also amazing! The video for “Chandelier” is also inspiring.

2. Roland Yeoman recently posted his 8 Simple Rules.
While reading each one I was nodding in agreement. His posts are always thoughtful,
but this one really inspired me because he shared a story with us that
demonstrated how bad life can get, but he followed it with a reminder of how
blessed we are.

3. I’ve wanted to go to Ireland for years, and
next year I may just get the chance, so I’ve been doing research on Ireland and
writing things down in a pretty journal I got for Christmas. Planning a dream
vacation that may actually happen feels wonder, and Ireland, a place of mystery
and magic, has always inspired me.

Nominations:

Roland Yeomans' posts are creative and thoughtful. Sometimes the ghost of Mark Twain takes over
his blog.

Arlee Birdcreated the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. How much more inspiring can
you get? You can sign up NOW!

Monday, January 26, 2015

In my novella, 30 Seconds, I wrote a fun snowball scene
that lets my characters unwind from the scary, intense moments they experienced
before then. I wholeheartedly believe in taking a step back from the action to
let your readers and characters breathe, and if your story is set in winter, a
snowball fight could be just the thing.

Here are 5 things to consider if you ever write a
snowball fight:

1.Opponents

Who is playing in this
snowball fight? Are there just two people battling against each other, or is a
family divided?

2.Snow

Describe the ground as your characters
run from each other and their boots sink into a foot or so of soft snow. Also
describe the making of the snowballs, the freezing of unprotected fingers, and the
creation a snowball piles.

Let your readers know about
all the hits and misses; when your hero/heroine gets smacked in the side of the
head, the hard and cold impact, and the explosion of snow. Or he/she can see
their snowball hit their opponent and cheer in victory. Also tell your readers
about the misses. Your hero/heroine could be throwing snowballs one right after
the other but not making any contact.

4.What
else do they do?

A snowball fight isn’t just
about throwing balls of snow. Let your readers in on your hero/heroine’s
thoughts to share his/her strategy. Does he/she hide behind something? Run? Or
make a stand with an armful of snowballs?

5.Who
wins?

How do your characters
decide who wins? Does someone forfeit with his/her hands in the air? In 30 Seconds, my character’s snowball
fight ends with a kiss, so maybe they are both winners. ;)

Friday, January 23, 2015

I have a special treat for all of you...I’m bringing a new feature to
Write with Fey for authors to showcase a special scene in their books. Andrea Downing, an author from The Wild Rose Press, is the
first to be honored with this feature. She’s sharing a scene from her recent
release, Dearest Darling.

Andrea Downing: Let me first say thanks so much, Chrys, for having me here
today. This is the first time I’ve done
a ‘scene spotlight’ and I really enjoyed it.

Daniel
drove back in with the feed sleigh in the late afternoon. The snow had stopped,
leaving a silver-white aura over the landscape. The moon fought the sun for this
hour, a crescent hanging in the sky like a misplaced toy. There Emily stood,
her pelisse bundled tight around her. She leaned on the corral fence, staring
out, the mountains standing silently caped in their ermine cloaks, the high
prairie encased in its diamond shell, a fading sun scattering jewels onto the
landscape. As he reined in, she cast a smile his way, one he could not help but
return.

“It’s so beautiful. This landscape. It’s remarkable,
quite honestly. It’s as if there’s nothing but space for us for miles and miles
and miles. Only the mountains and rivers and the prairie, no one else, just us.
Amazing.”

He halted the dray horse, set the brake, and jumped down
to stand beside her at the corral, trying to see what she saw, see it through
her eyes. He sucked in the fresh air, his hands on the fencing he had built
himself. “Like you, I didn’t know what I was coming to. Ten years back. But I
had read lots. It was different then, quieter. Even less folks than what there
are now. I thought...I thought I’d never seen anything so beautiful. Still
don’t.” Although, with her before him, he wondered.

“It’s so different from the city.”Her voice had a note of
quiet peace, like the evening call of birds. That was what her voice was like.
A call. To him.

Picture by Andrea Downing

“Yeah. It sure is.” He patted the waiting horse, puffs of
cold breath forming clouds from its nostrils as it snorted out its impatience.

“I’ll put dinner on,” she informed him, and with a last
glance at the hills beyond, she headed back into the cabin.

Daniel stood watching her, the reins in his hand, the
horse stomping eagerly to be led to warmth, to its feed.

Bet it’ll be good. Bet it’ll be delicious.

And when he made his way back from the barn, the hay
sleigh unhitched, the horse curried and fed, he caught sight of her in the
lamplight, sitting there with the mending once more, the table set and waiting
for him.

He wanted nothing more than this, the firelight casting
her shadow against the cabin wall, the golden locks of hair highlighted by the
wavering colors of the fire in the grate, the woman at her work, silently
waiting for his return. His alone.

He removed his hat as he entered and set it on its peg
before unfastening his sheepskin coat. He wondered if he smelled, if she was
offended by his body odor and his unshaven face and uncut hair, but it was too
late to care about such matters. Ethel, still in New York, still breathing the
stench of city streets, enclosed streets with no views, still waiting in the
wings, haunted him now.

Picture by Andrea Downing

QUESTIONS:

1. Where does this scene take place?

Daniel’s ranch house was inspired by the Cunningham Cabin
in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
I always envisage Emily coming out of that cabin, and standing by the
rail and taking in that breathtaking scenery around her. I’ve tried to capture what it would be like
in these photos but nothing does it justice; you have to go there and
experience that sort of beauty, that solitude.

Picture by Andrea Downing

2. If this were a movie, what song would be playing in
the background?

I’m a big Country fan so this was a difficult decision,
but I think I’ve settled on ‘Never Knew Lonely’ by Vince Gill.

3. Which actors/actresses would play the characters
present in this scene?

For Daniel, no one could be better than Chris Hemsworth—I
promise you! Not just because he’s been
voted sexiest man of 2014, but he definitely fits how I envisage Daniel. Maybe I shouldn’t say that because the
character is named for my daughter’s boyfriend!
For Emily, I’d settle on Natalie Portman; she has the beauty and the
range necessary for this character.

4. What inspired this scene?

As I said above, the ranch was based on this historic
site in Grand Teton National Park. When
I was there I knew that the solitude, the way one feels about being so distant
from everyone else, had to play a part in the book, especially referencing
Daniel’s loneliness and his need for company, for a wife. Emily’s first bit of dialog captures
everything I felt there and the scene evolved from that.

Picture by Andrea Downing

5. What do you love the most about this scene?

First of all, I’m very proud of my line, “The moon fought
the sun for this hour, a crescent hanging in the sky like a misplaced
toy.” It’s one of those lines an author
writes and then later wonders where it came from! Did I write
that?! But the other thing I love about
this scene is the vision of Daniel peeking in his window and seeing Emily in
the lamplight. How many of us do that,
either walking along a street or driving by houses; we peep into windows and
feel the warmth of the home there, the love of a family. And that’s exactly what Daniel is longing
for, only at this point in the story he believes Emily is the wrong woman for
him.

BLURB:

Stuck in a life of servitude to her penny-pinching
brother, Emily Darling longs for a more exciting existence. When a packet with
travel tickets, meant for one Ethel Darton, accidentally lands on her doormat,
Emily sees a chance for escape. Having turned down the dreary suitors that have
come her way, is it possible a new existence also offers a different kind of
man?

Daniel Saunders has carved out a life for
himself in Wyoming—a life missing one thing: a wife. Having scrimped and saved
to bring his mail-order bride from New York, he is outraged to find in her
stead a runaway fraud. Even worse, the impostor is the sister of his old enemy.

But people are not always as
they seem, and sometimes the heart knows more than the head.

BIO:

Andrea Downing likes to say
that when she decided to do a Masters Degree, she made the mistake of turning
left out of New York, where she was born,
instead of right to the west, and ended up in the UK. She eventually married there, raising a
beautiful daughter and staying for longer than she cares to admit.Teaching, editing a poetry magazine, writing
travel articles, and a short stint in Nigeria filled those years until in 2008
she returned to NYC. She now divides her
time between the city and the shore, and often trades the canyons of New York
for the wide open spaces of Wyoming.Family vacations are often out west and, to date, she and her daughter
have been to some 20 ranches throughout the west. Loveland, her first book, was
a finalist for Best American Historical at the 2013 RONE Awards. Lawless Love, a short story,
part of The Wild Rose Press ‘Lawmen and Outlaws’ series, was a finalist for
Best Historical Novella at the RONE Awards and placed
in the 2014 International Digital Awards Historical Short contest. Dearest Darling, a novella,
is part of The Wild Rose Press Love Letters series, and came out Oct. 8th,
2014, and Dances of the Heart, another full length novel,
comes out in February, 2015.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

ANNOUNCEMENT:I am giving away 5 PDF copies of 30 Seconds to the first 5 people who comment saying they want to review it. You have to like romantic-suspense novellas and be willing to write a review on Amazon before Feb. 28th. It's only 100 pages long. Any takers? Pretty, please? Comment with your email address.Blurb: When Officer Blake Herro agreed to go
undercover in the Mob, he thought he understood the risks. But he's made
mistakes and now an innocent woman has become their target. He's determined to
protect her at all costs.

The Mob's death threat turns Dr. Dani
Hart's life upside down, but there is one danger she doesn’t anticipate. As
she's dodging bullets, she's falling in love with Blake. With danger all around
them, will she and Blake survive and have a happy ending, or will the Mob make
good on their threat?

•Create your own memes to fit your personality, such as Weird Word Wednesday, Friday Funnies, etc. If you have a theme for certain days, you'll be able to come up with ideas. And it doesn't even have to match the day.

• Sign up for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Every April a massive amount of bloggers join this challenge. We blog every day in April, except on Sundays. Each day is assigned a letter of the alphabet. You can have a theme or post random things.• You can try my 30 Day Writing Challenge and blog a prompt once or twice a week.

• Sign up for blog hops. When you get to know more bloggers you will come across
blog hops in a variety of topics. These are quite fun to do.

• Host guests for guest posts.

• Host authors for blog tours.

Again, when your blogging network grows, you’ll see
requests from authors for help with their blog tours. You’ll also be
able to ask bloggers if they’d be interested
in writing a guest post for your blog.